Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Just in from Madison

Wisconsin, Nation wait for critical milk ruling

Madison- A judge here in DaneCountyWisconsin postponed ruling on a motion that greatly affects Wisconsin’s ban on raw milk sales.

Dane County Circuit Judge Patrick Fiedler is scheduled to rule on a case today involving Grassway Organic Farm’s claim that the state has no right to stop them from selling raw milk to customers who have become part-owners of the farm.

Industry insiders think that the judge will wait to see the 'Farm to Consumer' Legal Defense Fund's response to the FDA's motion to dismiss. The Fund filed a suit for declaratory and injunctive relief against the FDA's ban on interstate sale of raw milk in a separate case in federal court in Iowa. The Fund was granted additional time to respond to the FDA's motion to dismiss.

The Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund filed suit against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and its parent agency, Health and Human Services (HHS), claiming that FDA's regulation banning the interstate transport of raw milk and raw dairy products for direct human consumption constitutes violations of the United States Constitution and federal law. FDA filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that there is no fundamental right to travel across state lines with raw milk in one's possession, and that there is no fundamental right to consume the food of one's choice or to give one's family members the food of one's choice.

Once the matter is fully briefed to the court, a decision will be issued on whether the Fund's case should or should not be dismissed. The Fund lawyers think the case won't be dismissed and that the next phase of the case will go forward.

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Jake Putnam grew up on a farm outside of Portneuf Gap, Idaho. Along the way he taught tennis, taught at a junior high school, worked on a newspaper, and spent 13 years as a broadcast reporter. While reporting he met kings, and movie stars, covered the Statehouse, flew in fighter jets and nearly got burned up in the great Yellowstone fire. He has an Emmy and two nominations to his credit. Putnam now writes for the Producer and Quarterly magazines, and the Farm Bureau News blog.